Henry II (The Anarchy Book 13)

by Griff Hosker

  Out of the corner of my eye I caught sight of the knights and men at arms who had tried to flank us. They were fleeing. Arrows still rained upon them and my squires led my men at arms to pursue them. I reined in to allow my line to form up on me. I looked and saw that James was alive. The standard was the worse for wear and I saw that it had been cut but the wolf was still there. Alice would have some repairs to make.

  Once my line was formed again I led my men south down the Thirsk road. We kept a brisk pace but one that would not exhaust the horses. It was like a hunt. Those who still had spears were able to pick off the men on foot as they ran. Those of us with swords leaned from the saddle to sweep into the backs of heads and backs. We halted at Thirsk for it was coming on to dark and little would be served by chasing the men of York over unfamiliar terrain. We had broken the back of their army and we could return to the siege. This time we could prosecute it with more vigour for we had no enemies now who might attack us.

  As we rode back Wulfric said, “So, Warlord, do you think that Stephen will take the bait?”

  “Perhaps but we have not yet finished. I think we will have his attention and that was all I hoped for. When we have finished with Northallerton we will close the Great North Road. That should bring some reaction from the south.”

  Chapter 9

  We collected the horses which were left on the road and on the battlefield. We would have to wait until the morning to strip the enemy dead and to bury our own. Some of our knights and men at arms had pursued the enemy into the night and did not return until late. The last to return was Gilles of Normanby and his men. He looked sheepishly at a glowering Wulfric as they walked their wear horses into the camp.

  “I am sorry, Warlord. We were carried away. I could not hold back my men. There always seemed to be an enemy within reach of my sword.”

  Wulfric snapped, “Did I teach you nothing? You and your men are the Warlord’s. Had you thrown them away recklessly then it might cost us dear later on. We are not the wild men of the north nor are we glory hunting Frenchmen. We are English and we follow the Earl of Cleveland! We follow orders! Remember that!”

  I smiled. Gilles looked suitably chastened. “It ended well. Tomorrow we rest our horses.”

  “The fool needs punishment!”

  “Then he and his men can collect the armour and weapons from the battlefield. They can gather our dead. That will show him the error of his ways better than anything.”

  The cost of the battle was easier to see in the morning. We had lost eighteen men at arms and three archers. It was more losses than was acceptable but it was vital to draw Stephen east, away from Wallingford. We had taken more prisoners and I made the same offer to them as I had to the others who had joined us. Some chose to. I sent Sir John and his men back to Stockton with those men at arms who spurned our offer and the two knights and three squires who had surrendered. They took the newly acquired horses, mail and weapons too. The squires and knights meant that there would be ransom.

  We kept the noose around the castle for two more days before I approached its walls, bare headed and with just Wulfric and James with me. I stopped a hundred paces from the gate, “Who commands here?”

  A grey bearded knight took off his helmet, “I am Odo of Northallerton. I fought with you at the Standard.”

  I nodded, “I remember. Had you and De Waleran joined me that day then we might have defeated the Scots once and for all.”

  “I know, Earl. It was a mistake. We acknowledge that now.”

  “Then do not make another now. You know that I can reduce these wooden walls.”

  “I do.”

  “It will take time and I will lose men. If I lose men than I may well be angry. An angry man oft times makes decisions which he later regrets. I would not have such regrets. Do you follow me?”

  “I do, Earl. What would you have?”

  “Your surrender. If you lay down your weapons, then you and your family will be hostages in my castle and your people can go about their business.”

  “And my men at arms and archers?”

  “They can remain here to protect your castle from bandits but they will obey me so long as you are my hostage.”

  “Those are the only terms?”

  “They are.” I deliberately made an offer which would be difficult to refuse. It achieved the same end as reducing it. York would not have their taxes and Stephen’s influence would have diminished.

  “Then we accept. Open the gates.”

  Wulfric said, “Is this wise, lord? We will have many more mouths to feed over the winter.”

  I laughed, “As we feed them their own animals I do not think that we will go hungry. Besides, that is my decision. This war may soon be over and if it is then we have a peace to build. The alternative is for me to slaughter brave Englishmen who are just defending their home. Think of the bigger picture, Wulfric. We can now go to York with a larger army than we might have hoped. My plan to draw Stephen north could still work.”

  He nodded, “And that is why you are Warlord and I am just a butcher of men. You are right. It seems Sir Gilles is not the only one with lessons to learn.”

  Two days later we headed for York. A sergeant at arms commanded Northallerton and he swore fealty so long as his master was my guest. Aiden and his scouts had reported that York had been preparing for a siege since we had attacked Thirsk. My knights might have thought I had delayed too long but they said nothing. My delay had been deliberate. The longer we waited the more mouths would flock to York for food. It would be rammed full of refugees eager to avoid the wrath of the Warlord. As we headed south I had my men gather every spare animal that we saw. These would not be taken back to Stockton; these would feed us while we waited Stephen’s response.

  As they departed I shouted, “And bring tents when you return. We will need protection from the elements.”

  It took a whole day for us to reach the place I had chosen as our camp. South of York were two villages: Fulford and Nunthorpe. Between them lay the Ouse and close by the Great North Road. Rather than encircling their city I planned on camping there. There was a high piece of ground within sight of the Roman Road and I used that to build my wooden palisade. I sent Wulfric and his knights to fell trees close to the river and, using ropes, make a barrage across the river. Ships would neither enter nor leave York. I would be able to cut them off from both news and aid.

  Leaving most of my men toiling on our defences I rode with my men at arms and my archers to the Mickelgate. We passed ships tied up at the quays. They were protected by the walls of the city. Their crews were gone. “Tonight, Dick, I want you and Wilfred to bring my men here and fire those ships. Use either rafts or arrows. I care not so long as the ships are burned or beached. It will show how dangerous we are.”

  “Aye, lord.”

  I rode to the bridge which led to the Mickelgate. I took off my helmet and ventail and shouted, “Tell the Sheriff that Henry FitzEmpress is now Duke of Normandy! He comes here soon to claim the crown of England. If you join us now, then you may well keep your position when he returns.” I spoke slowly and I waited.

  Dick said, “You do not expect him to do so do you, lord?”

  “Of course not, but it will place doubts in his mind. He will wonder where the rest of my army is. He will worry about Thirsk and Northallerton. His men who fled the battle will have exaggerated our numbers. All men who are defeated do so. I have no intention of trying to scale his walls. Winter is coming. We have animals we can slaughter and we can wait for the relief army. All we are doing, Dick, is buying Wallingford time. The Duke of Normandy cannot be here before spring and if I am to be brutally honest with an old friend then I would say that it will be nearer the summer.”

  A voice sounded from the battlements, “We do not fear the Warlord of the North. We are well supplied and messengers have been sent to King Stephen. Retribution will be visited upon your head.”

  I let the words hang in the air and then I said, “I call upon
the men of York to remember my words. I have offered peace and the Sheriff has rejected them. I will not forget this day. The city of York will bear the consequences of this.”

  I turned Rolf’s head and led my men back down the road to our camp. “Dick, have ten good archers under a sergeant you think can lead. I want them to watch the east gate. The Sheriff may try to get messengers out.”

  “Aye lord. You think they will try something?”

  “I think they will send a messenger to King Stephen. Messengers, they can send, but if they send out parties to forage then slay them. Wilfred have ten men at arms under Ralph of Nottingham do the same at the Bootham Bar. I doubt that they will send messengers north; they have no friends there but they may try to augment their supplies.”

  “And the Mickelgate, lord?”

  “Each day a different knight will bring his men at arms and watch it. That alone will frighten the Sheriff for he will see that we have great numbers.”

  The camp was finished by the time we arrived and Wulfric had blocked the river. As I had expected the log jam flooded the land on both banks. It effectively gave us added protection on the river side. It was as though we had two moats. When our enemies came, they would have to attack up the road. That would narrow their attack and mitigate their numbers. I had no doubt that they would outnumber us. I gathered my knights and told them our plans.

  When I had told them they nodded. Sir Hugh looked up at the cloud filled sky, “I fear it will rain and make life unpleasant for us.”

  Wulfric laughed, “I can see that is has been some time since you came on campaign. Barnard Castle must be a nice warm castle eh? Do you miss your wife?”

  Sir Hugh shook his head, “No, I just worry that an old bear like you might try to cuddle next to me in the cold of winter! I am choosier now that I am older!”

  “Well said, brother,” Sir Tristan was Sir Hugh’s brother in law and he was enjoying the company of his old friend. We were a tightly knit group of knights. The banter and the humour spoke well for the spirit in the camp.

  “Besides, Sir Wulfric, the rain will help us. We have the only high piece of ground. Our enemies will have to march through sucking mud to reach us. We have our most powerful weapon, the bow, and slow moving knights and men at arms are grist to our mill.”

  As we sat around the fire and ate the first of the cattle we had slaughtered Sir Richard and James questioned me further. “When did you come up with this plan, Earl?”

  “When we were sailing back to England. England is not like Normandy. Here we use the land as an ally. The Ouse and the Fosse flood even in summer. In winter, it is a land of lakes. We make a wall of our knights and men at arms and use our archers to slaughter the enemy. We will be as a human dam. When he has bled enough we will attack.”

  “You mean this battle could end the civil war?”

  “I wish it would but it will not. Stephen will still try to take Wallingford. The army which marches north will be larger than us but not so big as to weaken the Usurper. He will still have enough men.”

  After five days, my men had slain thirty odd hunters who had left the city to try to get food. Three messengers had managed to get through our lines. We had not tried too hard to stop them. I wanted Stephen in the north. The burned ships were not totally destroyed but they had had to be pulled on to the land. None would sail until we left. And the rains did come. We sheltered in the tents we had brought. Some of the money we had captured from Queen Matilda had been used to buy good quality canvas and the sail makers in Ethelred’s ship yard had made them into fine tents. We were dry.

  I sent Aiden and his scouts to see if any were heading up the Great North Road. It was the only way for an army to approach. Now that Ranulf ruled the Duchy of Lancaster once more, the road to the west was secure.

  The new men at arms who had defected to us were being closely watched and the men who scrutinised them were men like Leopold of Durstein and Peter Strong Arm; they were my most experienced warriors. Just to be certain that we were not creating a force of men who could defect again during battle we had split them amongst all of the companies. We did not, however, have enough horses for them all. Some would be kept to guard the camp when the enemy came north.

  Six days after they left Aiden and his men returned. He was wet and bedraggled. The rain had stopped for a few days but had now returned. The land on either side of the road was a quagmire.

  “Your enemies come, lord.”

  “Stephen?”

  “No, lord, his son Eustace, Count of Boulogne. They were at Lincoln when last we spied them but they were strung out along the road. It will be three days before they draw close.”

  “And they keep to the Roman Road?”

  “They do for the land on both sides is flooded. It is why they are taking so long. They have a hundred knights and two hundred men at arms. There are fifty crossbows and he looks to have two hundred of the fyrd from Lincoln.”

  “He will gather more as he comes north.” I spoke for the benefit of my knights who were all listening to the report.

  Wulfric nodded, “The crops are in. They owe their master forty days of service. This means they cannot be used against Wallingford, lord.”

  “It is as I hoped. The fyrd are poor in a fight but they can man a siege. He will be forced to use the fyrd from London and we know that they are self-seekers in that city. They will pay beggars and thieves to take their place. Whatever the outcome of this battle we can withdraw north knowing that we have done what the Duke intended. If Eustace comes then the County of Essex is no longer somewhere he can recruit men. ”

  Sir Hugh asked, “Why do we not carry on south and take Lincoln when we have defeated them?”

  “You are that confident, Sir Hugh?”

  “That we will beat Eustace? Aye.”

  “And I am confident too but if we took Lincoln and York remained we would stretch our supply lines too much and we would be in a worse position than Stephen. This is a longer game we play, Sir Hugh. The end is almost in sight. Now is the time for patience. I would rather take another year or two and guarantee victory than throw the dice and risk all.”

  Wulfric put his huge arm around Sir Hugh, “Besides this way you get to see your pretty wife sooner! You will be home for Christmas!”

  I turned to my squire, “James, take three men at arms and fetch in the archers and men at arms who watch the roads and the bridges. We need them here now.”

  The wet weather continued off and on for the next day and then became drier. Edgar and Edward kept watch on the army of Eustace as it trudged up the road. We prepared for the battle. My plan was simple. We would wait in four lines. Three lines of knights, men at arms and squires and a fourth, the largest, made up of archers. The slingers would be spread out before us. They would retreat when the enemy attacked. Dick and Phillip of Piercebridge marked out the ranges with white stones. They would be crucial. At longer range the arrows would only penetrate cloth but, closer to us, they would pierce mail. Of course, we would be targeting the horses too. The biggest danger lay in their crossbows. They had a long range but a slow rate of release. Dick and Phillip of Piercebridge chose their most powerful forty archers and they were given the task of killing the crossbowmen.

  The ground before us would invite Eustace of Boulogne. It was relatively flat and the slight slope would not slow down his horses. That was, however, misleading. It was not the slope which would slow them up but the boggy nature of the land there. The fields had been ploughed after the crops had been harvested and the rains had turned them into feet and hoof sucking marshes. They looked firm but we had walked there and found that a mailed warrior would sink up to his ankles. A horse and rider would do the same. The only firm ground was the road which ran to our right. It meant that Eustace, if he had any sense, would send his best warriors up the road. I had Wulfric, Sir John and Sir Hugh there with their men. I would place myself and my standard before the front rank. I would fight where there was the most danger. />
  Every knight, squire and man at arms had a long spear and three throwing spears. Normally we would not have bothered with them but I was convinced that the slow approach of our enemy would enable us to use them effectively.

  Edgar and Edward told us that the enemy were camped at the nunnery at Appleton Roebuck. The lady who had founded it was Alice de St. Quentin and she was a close friend of Eustace’s father. It was only eight miles away and my knights were keen for us to make a night time raid on them. They were surprised when I refused.

  “But why lord? We have done so many times before and it has often won the battle for us.”

  “True Sir Harold, but the enemy know that also. I am betting that Eustace will have a well defended camp which uses the stone walls of the nunnery. He will have men waiting for a night time attack. Edgar told us that they only travelled fifteen miles today. Why? He wanted time to make his camp defensible. Do not worry. This works to our advantage. His men will watch all night and no one will come. They will be more tired. There is another reason. I would not risk the nunnery.”

  They accepted that but they did not understand the full reason. The last thing Henry needed was for men who were fighting for him to do anything which would make them fall foul of the Pope. If he was considering an annulment of Eleanor’s marriage, then we needed it to go through smoothly.

  The banners appeared the next morning. I had deliberately avoided having scouts out. There was no point. Scouts told you where an enemy was. We knew where they were and there was no way that they could outflank us. It would be a frontal assault and Eustace would use his superior numbers to batter us out of the way and then relieve the siege of York. Eustace’s scouts had told him of the dangers of the fields and the bulk of his army was coming up the road like a long metal snake. He had dismounted men at arms and the fyrd coming towards us across the fields supported by the crossbowmen. Eustace was showing me that he could be a ruthless leader. His fyrd would be sacrificed to allow his crossbows to get close to us.